


Workaholic

by chibistarlyte



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Birthday, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 04:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibistarlyte/pseuds/chibistarlyte
Summary: Seto forgets his own birthday. Jou and Mokuba try to fix it.





	Workaholic

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea brewing in my head for years, but every time I would sit down to write it, nothing good would come out. So this year, since it's close to Seto's birthday, I finally sat down and forced myself to write it. I was originally going to post this on his actual birthday, but I'm impatient. :)
> 
> Not beta'd. Feel free to point out any and all errors to me!
> 
> Enjoy!

Finishing off his tenth cup of coffee that day, Seto all but dropped his mug with a clatter on his desk. Long fingers rubbed furiously at tired eyes—they had begun burning from staring at the computer screen hours ago, with shadows so dark beneath that one would think the CEO had been decked in the face. A short glance at the clock told him his was almost midnight, much later than he’d intended to work that night. And after he’d promised Mokuba and Jounouchi he’d be home early at their constant insistence…

But there’d been some major hang-ups today that came in the form of software bugs that needed immediate fixing, and Seto typically tackled these kinds of problems on his own.

Seto clicked his mouse, opening up his email inbox. He still had some unanswered messages left—if he worked quickly, he may make it out of the office before the date turned. Trying and failing to stifle a yawn, he set to work. His fingers flew across the keyboard, muscle memory guiding him to every precise keystroke, composing paragraphs he was only half paying attention to. A few times he’d catch himself nodding off, only to jolt awake with renewed energy that lasted all of thirty seconds before he became sleepy once again. He didn’t think to bother fixing himself another cup of coffee--he'd probably end up dead if he had any more caffeine, anyway. He just had to endure a few more emails and he was home free.

Hitting send on his final wretched message of the evening, he felt a literal weight lift off his shoulders. He was finally _done._ Stretching his arms as far up as his body would allow, Seto let out a rather undignified groan as his muscles loosened a bit. Maybe he’d go home and take a long, hot shower to relax--if he didn’t collapse into his bed first, that is.

He was gathering up his paperwork and filing it into his shiny silver briefcase when there was a knock on his closed office door. Seto nearly dropped all his papers at the unexpected sound. Who in the world would still be here at this hour? Most of his employees left by seven o’clock, and those who wanted the overtime were gone no later than nine.

“Come in,” he announced, his voice far raspier than he’d anticipated. But he hadn’t spoken in several hours, focusing solely on his program bugs in solitude.

The knob twisted and the door cracked open just enough for his younger brother to poke his head in. “Niisama?”

Seto started. “Mokuba? What are you doing here? It’s late; you should be in bed by now, or at the very least at _home_.”

“Well, you didn’t come home early like you said you would--”

The raven-haired boy didn’t get a chance to finish before his elder brother interrupted him.

“Mokuba, I’m sorry. We had some huge software problems and I’ve been working all day to find and fix all the bugs....” He trailed off, knowing that his dedication to his job was no excuse to miss out on family time. It’d happened more often than he’d care to admit, being the workaholic he was. And though he’d made great effort in recent months to not let work consume him, there were still days like today when he got swept up in everything happening at the office.

“It’s okay, niisama, we understand,” the young boy assured with one of his softest smiles. “Which is why we came to you.”

Confusion etched itself onto Seto’s face. “We?” he asked, bemused.

At that, Mokuba stepped fully into the room and gently swung the door open, revealing Jounouchi in the doorway. The blond was holding a plate with a giant vanilla cupcake on it, with blue and white swirled frosting and a solitary white candle poking out from the top. Jou wore a somewhat sheepish smile and stepped further into the office, all the way to Seto’s desk with Mokuba following behind him.

“It’s kinda cheesy, but we wanted to at least do somethin’ for ya,” Jou said, holding out the cupcake towards his boyfriend.

If Seto was confused about Mokuba and Jounouchi’s sudden presence at the KaibaCorp headquarters, he was even more confused at the dessert in the blond’s hands.

“Thank you...but what’s it for?”

Jou and Mokuba exchanged looks of bewilderment.

“You serious?” Jou asked, pulling the cupcake back toward himself. “Did you honestly forget what today was?”

Ugh, his exhausted brain couldn’t handle this right now. Rubbing at his temple, the CEO hazarded a guess. “...Wednesday?” About to be Thursday, he noted as he caught a quick glance at the clock on his computer screen. 23:56.

“Oh my God, you _are_ serious,” Jou said, wide-eyed.

The brunet just stared at the pair, unsure of what they were getting at.

“Niisama…” Mokuba piped up. “It’s your birthday.”

That declaration certainly caught Seto off-guard. His...birthday? It couldn’t be. There was no way he’d miss an important day like that.

But one more glance at his computer screen told him all he needed to know. 23:57. 25 October.

He let out an exasperated sigh, deflating back in his high-backed office chair and tipping his head back toward the ceiling, eyes closed.

To miss his own birthday, of all things…

“Seto…” he heard Jou say. A few moments later, he felt a warm, calloused hand on his cheek. He slowly opened his blue eyes and met with amber ones. “You’ve been working way too hard lately. You need to take some time off, or _something_.”

Jou’s eyes were imploring, and Seto had a hard time holding his gaze. “But...the company…”

“Jou’s right,” Mokuba said, coming around the other side of the desk and grabbing hold of his brother’s arm. “You should take a break. You’ll work yourself to death, at this rate.”

They were both right, and he knew it. But Seto didn’t know how to relax. Didn’t know how to separate himself from work.

Jou reached over to the front of the desk, where he’d set the cupcake, picking it up and holding it in front of his diligent boyfriend. “At the very least, let’s light your candle so you can make a wish.”

The blond pulled a lighter out of the pocket of his jeans, clicking down the button to strike the flint and ignite a small flame. He held the lighter over the wick until it caught. The small flicker of the flame made Jou’s eyes glow in the dimly-lit office, and Seto was nearly mesmerized.

The brunet thought for a moment. What should he wish for? He was never really the type to do so, but he could humor Jou and Mokuba, since they were kind and thoughtful enough to bring him a birthday treat. Finally having something in mind, he let out a small breath and blew out the candle, right before midnight hit and the date rolled over. Mokuba clapped and hugged Seto.

“Happy birthday, Niisama,” the young boy said, nuzzling his face into his older brother’s chest.

“Thanks, kiddo,” Seto said, holding his brother in his arms.

“Yeah, happy birthday, Seto,” Jou wished, leaning in to give his boyfriend a sweet, tender kiss. “Now, don’t go forgetting your birthday again, ya hear?”

It didn’t matter what Seto wished for. Not really. Because he had everything he could have ever wanted right here with him.


End file.
